‘You… you must’ve,’ Connelly said. ‘I mean–’ He glanced at his lawyer, who said nothing.
Knox nodded to the tape machine. ‘I can play it back if you like.’
Connelly’s face took on a perplexed expression.
‘In any event,’ Knox said, ‘Your DNA on the glove is recent. Our forensic team has dated it to within three weeks. In contrast, Adrian’s DNA – you’re correct, the gloves did belong to Mr Black – has been dated to 2012 or earlier.’
Knox paused for a moment, then continued, ‘Patti McCormack was blackmailing you, wasn’t she, Gavin? Her bankbook is in our possession. It records a total of seven deposits of £250 paid into her account over the last fourteen weeks. Yet she was unemployed. I’m sure if we checked your bank statements, we’d see withdrawals of the same amounts on the same dates.’
Connelly said nothing for a moment, then shrugged. ‘Butler threatened to tell the Scottish Government about me,’ he said. ‘Said she’d send an e-mail to the First Minister herself.’ He shook his head. ‘Not about the beatings, though. She was a pure little swine. She knew they were deserved. No, it was about the sex.
‘She liked to flaunt herself, you see, even though she was thirteen. She was in the room of one of her friends when I came in. Her mate had gone to the shops at Fairmilehead, and Butler was lying on the bed, skirt pulled to her knees. She tried to scream when I went over and covered her mouth.’ Connelly shrugged again. ‘It was a come-on – how was I supposed to react?’
‘Like a responsible adult,’ Knox said.
‘But it was her fault,’ Connelly said. ‘She was taunting me.’
‘She was thirteen,’ Fulton said, anger evident in his face.
Knox placed a restraining hand on his partner’s arm. ‘When did she start blackmailing you?’ he said.
‘Early March this year,’ Connelly said. ‘She phoned out of the blue, I hadn’t seen her in four years. Said she’d made up her mind I should pay. Either that or – well, I told you what she was going to do. My mother’s ninety-one and lives in Mountcastle. She’s had a couple of strokes. I was worried if she found out it would be the end of her.’
‘Why Figgate Park?’ Knox said.
‘Usually I met her at Leith Links and paid her there. But this last week my mother’s health has become worse. She’s got a home help, of course, but I’ve needed to be there more often. When Butler – McCormack – phoned, I asked her to meet me at Figgate Park, since it’s near where my mother lives.’
‘She agreed to meet you there?’ Knox said.
Connelly nodded. ‘I told her I’d give her the taxi fare, but she said from this time on the payment would be £500.’ He shook his head. ‘I tried to reason with her, told her I was already dipping deep into my savings, but she’d have none of it. It was a case of pay the £500 or…’ Connelly let it hang.
‘It was then you decided to kill her?’ Fulton said.
Connelly waved his hands in a gesture of exasperation. ‘She was bleeding me dry,’ he said. ‘It wouldn’t have been long before I was unable to pay her. And she might have carried out her threat anyway.’
‘You thought it a good idea to set up Adrian Black?’ Knox said.
Connelly shook his head. ‘I really didn’t have time to think it through. I remembered I’d seen his gloves at Allanbreck, then …’ He shrugged.
‘Was Patti waiting for you as arranged?’ Knox asked.
Connelly nodded and said, ‘Yes, at 8.30pm. The park was almost empty. I persuaded her to go down to a spot near the burn where there’s trees and bushes, so no one would see me hand over the cash.’
‘Which is where you strangled her.’ Fulton said.
‘I was in two minds,’ Connelly said. ‘I didn’t know if I could go through with it or not.’ He shook his head and continued, ‘She became abusive then, saying, “You’re pathetic, you know that, Connelly? Fucking children, putting them through hell. I really should shop you.” She spat in my face, and at that point I lost it…’
Chapter Sixteen
Knox rose at 10.30am. After a drink with his colleagues on Saturday evening, he had driven home and was later joined by Mason, who spent the night with him.
When he’d showered and shaved and went back to the bedroom, Mason was still underneath the covers.
She heard him enter, then stretched her arms and yawned. ‘What time is it?’
‘Ten to eleven,’ Knox said, grinning. ‘My, aren’t you a sleepyhead?’
Mason sat up, adjusted the pillows at her back, then said, ‘You don’t suffer from hangovers, do you?’
‘Not if you stick to whisky and water,’ Knox said, then shook his head. ‘Ah, but vodka and beer, now there’s a taboo.’
Mason scowled. ‘There speaks Mr Perfect,’ she said. ‘As I recall, you were drinking beer at the Windsor.’
‘Only one pint,’ Knox said. ‘I was driving, don’t forget.’
Mason nodded. ‘Yes, I stayed with Mark and Bill and had a couple more, then got a taxi up,’ she said. ‘Making sure our little trysts remain a secret.’
Knox threw the bath towel on the floor and put on a robe. ‘I’m pretty sure the others know about us,’ he said. ‘They’re just too diplomatic to say.’
Mason got out of bed and headed to the bathroom. ‘You think so?’ she said.
‘I do,’ Knox replied. ‘And I think you do, too.’
After Mason had showered and they both had dressed, they had breakfast in the kitchen. When they finished, Knox looked at his watch. ‘It’s almost twelve,’ he said. ‘Fancy a jog around Arthur’s Seat?’
‘You’re still keeping that up?’
Knox grinned. ‘Once a week,’ he said. ‘Got to look after the old blood pressure. Take the path towards the summit, left along Hunter’s Bog, back via the Radical Road – three miles.’ He gave her a teasing look, then added, ‘When you’re my age, you’ve got to work at it.’
Mason rolled her eyes. ‘Listen to Methuselah.’
Knox pretended to give her ear a cuff. ‘Come on,’ he said. ‘It’s a nice run. You’ll enjoy it.’
A sudden ringing came from Mason’s handbag and she reached for it. ‘Aha,’ she said, ‘saved by the bell.’
Mason took out the mobile and put it to her ear. ‘Hello, Yvonne Mason.’
‘Hello, is that Detective Constable Mason?’
Mason waved a finger to attract Knox’s attention and switched to speaker mode.
‘Yes.’
‘Hi, it’s Catherine Sinclair, Samantha Tavener’s girlfriend. I met you at my office – Abercrombie and Lyall?’
‘Yes,’ Mason said. ‘I remember you.’
‘This isn’t an inconvenient time?’
‘No,’ Mason said. ‘Go ahead.’
‘You asked me if I could remember anything unusual when you were investigating Samantha’s kidnap?’
‘Yes,’ Mason said.
‘Well, I thought about it after you left, but nothing came to mind. Then Samantha phoned yesterday to say she was okay. She mentioned the Christian name of the kidnapper and it immediately rang a bell. I drove to my office at the college last night, checked our records, and found what I was looking for.
‘A student was dismissed five months ago for defrauding his fellow students. Told them he could obtain law books at a third of bookshop prices. He took a fifty per cent deposit, but those who paid never received their orders.
‘His excuse was they’d been delayed by the distributor. Weeks passed and his classmates got fed up pestering him. I think they wrote it off – the deposits were never more than £50. One student complained to the faculty, however. The case was brought before the committee and he was expelled. I was one of the committee members who decided on expulsion.’
‘What was the man’s name?’ Mason said.
‘Alistair Blair, aged twenty-seven,’ Sinclair said. ‘I printed out his file, complete with photograph, and brought it home. When Samantha arrived this morning, she identified him
straightaway.’
Mason said, ‘If you don’t mind, I’d like to pick it up and add it to our records. Blair’s still at large, unfortunately.’
‘Wait, DC Mason, there’s something else.’
‘Yes?’
‘Samantha and I have just checked LinkFriend, the social media site.’
‘And?’
‘Blair’s circle of friends and family includes his sister, Claudia Blair.’
‘Claudia Blair?’
‘Yes,’ Sinclair said. ‘Blair’s her maiden name. Samantha was shocked to discover the woman is her flatmate, Claudia Wright.’
Knox motioned to the phone. Is Samantha there? He mouthed silently.
‘Is Samantha with you?’ Mason asked.
‘Yes, she is.’
‘Could you put her on please?’ Mason said. ‘Detective Inspector Knox is with me now. He’d like to speak to her.’
‘Okay,’ Sinclair said.
Mason kept the phone on speaker mode and moved it closer to Knox.
‘Hello,’ Samantha said.
‘Hi, Samantha,’ Knox said. ‘You haven’t returned to Duddingston yet?’
‘No,’ Samantha said. ‘I spent last night with my parents. I drove in to see Catherine this morning.’
‘Uh-huh.’ Knox said. ‘My colleague DS Fulton and I spoke to Claudia on Wednesday morning. She didn’t tell us she’d been married.’
‘She only mentioned it to me once,’ Samantha said. ‘Not long after I moved in. She said she was in her late teens at the time. Apparently, she and her husband separated after six months.’
‘Were you intending to go back to the flat?’ Knox said.
‘I didn’t think it a good idea,’ Samantha said. ‘In case her brother was there.’
‘Very wise,’ Knox said. ‘You still have the keys?’
‘Yes.’
‘Good,’ Knox said. ‘Look, Samantha, DC Mason and I will head down to Duddingston now. It’s a ten-minute drive from where we are. Where in town are you?’
‘Catherine’s flat is in central Edinburgh,’ Samantha said. ‘Nelson Street.’
Knox said, ‘Would you mind bringing the keys and meeting us at Duddingston? I don’t think it likely Claudia will be there, much less her brother. I’d like to take a look just the same. You okay with that?’
‘Of course,’ Samantha said. ‘About half an hour?’
‘That’ll be fine,’ Knox said. ‘See you then.’
* * *
Knox shook his head and said, ‘I can’t believe I missed that.’ He and Mason were driving via Duddingston Low Road, a twisting stretch of tarmac girdling the flanks of Arthur’s Seat.
‘Missed what?’ Mason said.
‘Claudia Wright,’ Knox said. ‘She knew exactly when Samantha left the Commonwealth Pool en route for Duddingston. She’d have phoned her brother the moment she got Tavener’s call.’
‘Come on, Jack,’ Mason said. ‘Samantha is a creature of habit. She uses the cycleway on a regular basis. It could have been anyone.’
‘Maybe,’ Knox mused.
‘What I find intriguing is how it was planned,’ Mason said. ‘At some point, Alistair’s sister must’ve mentioned to him she had a new flatmate studying law at the Old College.’
Knox nodded. ‘Aye,’ he said. ‘Then our erstwhile con man discovered Samantha was in a relationship with Sinclair, a woman on the committee that expelled him.’ Knox shook his head and added, ‘Most important of all, though, her daddy was rich.’
‘So, he decided to make her girlfriend a hostage to fortune,’ Mason said.
‘Aye,’ Knox said. ‘With the aim of extracting a wee bit of that fortune for himself.’
Knox reached the village, where he turned left into The Causeway, and parked within sight of 62a. Fifteen minutes later, he glanced into his rear-view mirror and saw a green Audi pull in behind him.
He and Mason exited the car, then Samantha handed over the keys to the flat.
Knox took them and nodded to the door. ‘Like I mentioned,’ he said. ‘I don’t think it likely Claudia or her brother are here,’ he said. ‘But I’ll give you a ring when it’s safe to come up.’
Samantha nodded, then Knox and Mason crossed the street.
* * *
A few minutes later, they had checked the flat’s two bedrooms. The wardrobe of the larger one was empty: all that remained were wire hangers and a strong scent of mothballs. Afterwards, Mason checked the dressing table and cupboards, but found no trace of the room’s former occupant.
She went to the hallway and found Knox, who thumbed over his shoulder. ‘I’m guessing the room behind me is Samantha’s,’ he said. ‘Everything inside looks intact.’
Mason nodded. ‘Not the other, though,’ she said. ‘It’s been cleaned out.’
Knox rang Samantha, who came up and confirmed the room Mason checked had been Wright’s. ‘All her belongings have gone,’ she said.
Knox indicated the room he’d vacated. ‘Will you make sure your things are okay?’ he said.
Samantha went inside and reappeared moments later. ‘Yes, everything’s just as I left it.’
‘Your laptop’s there, too?’ Knox said. ‘DI Murray, our forensics man, looked it over while you were being held at Joppa. I had a uniformed officer return it on Thursday.’
‘Yes, I checked,’ Samantha said. ‘It’s inside the bed storage drawer, where I keep it.’
* * *
‘I don’t think I could spend another second here,’ Samantha said when they were standing next to their cars.
‘You’ll stay with me,’ Sinclair said. ‘I’ll have a couple of lads at the office come down tomorrow and fetch your things.’
Samantha kissed Sinclair on the cheek. ‘Thanks, Catherine,’ she said, then turned to Knox. ‘Do you think you’ll catch Blair, Detective Inspector?’
Knox nodded. ‘We know a lot more than we did yesterday,’ he said. ‘I’m sure it’s just a matter of time.’
Samantha smiled. ‘I can’t express how grateful I am to you and your colleagues for coming to my aid,’ she said.
‘Thank you, Samantha,’ Knox said. ‘But we were only doing our job.’
‘I heard my father was unhappy you tried to place a tracker with the ransom money. He told me he made a complaint to the Chief Constable.’
‘Yes,’ Knox said. ‘DCI Warburton, my boss, said as much.’
Samantha smiled, then leaned over and touched Knox’s arm. ‘Please, tell him not to worry,’ she said. ‘I’ve persuaded him to make a retraction.’
Chapter Seventeen
Five days later, at 11.30am, Police Constables John Allan and Peter Green had been keeping surveillance on the caravans for more than an hour. Both officers wore plain clothes and watched from an unmarked Vauxhall Astra parked at a track partially obscured by foliage.
Noel Clifford, the Loch Lomond manager of Highland Vacation Parks, had reported a series of thefts from the establishment’s units over a period of three weeks. Items stolen from renters included cameras, laptops and mobile phones – anything portable of reasonable value.
The chief suspect, Clifford told Callander Police, was a 21-year-old former employee called Thomas Bright. Bright had been sacked at the end of April for pilfering the site’s stores. Security staff had stopped him with an almost-full carrier bag of catering items – boxes of teabags, tins of coffee and packs of jams and marmalade.
No charges had been brought, but Clifford thought it likely Bright had copied a master key and was responsible for the current spate of thefts.
Allan and Green were positioned near a grove of trees on the periphery of the park. The three caravans there were isolated and had so far escaped the thief’s attentions.
Allan, sitting in the passenger seat, was using a pair of binoculars and something caught his eye. He thumbed the focus wheel and said, ‘There!’
‘Where?’ Green said.
Allan handed him the glasses. ‘The caravan on the right,’ he
said. ‘Someone lurking in the bushes.’
Green took the binoculars and trained them in that direction. ‘You’re right, John,’ he said. ‘A young guy, fits Clifford’s description of Bright.’
The officers watched the man step forward. He looked around, then went to the first caravan and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, he took a key from his pocket, unlocked the caravan, and went inside.
‘Cheeky wee sod,’ Green said.
‘We’d better give him a minute or two,’ Allan said, gesturing to the other caravans. ‘It’s likely he’ll do the three. We’ll collar him then.’
Green nodded, and a short while later the officers saw Bright leave the first caravan carrying a large supermarket carrier bag. He approached the unit in the middle and repeated the process: knocking first, then, when no one answered, using his key to gain access.
A minute or two later, Bright reappeared at the door and moved on to the third. Allan indicated the bag he was carrying. ‘That carrier looks pretty full,’ he said.
A few minutes passed, then Green said, ‘He’s taking a bit longer with this one.’
Allan grinned. ‘Maybe he’s found a cache of jewels.’
Allan had just finished speaking when Bright emerged. As he inched down a short flight of steps outside the caravan, the officers saw he carried the supermarket bag in one hand and a large canvas holdall in the other.
‘What the hell’s he got there?’ Green said.
Allan shook his head. ‘God knows,’ he said. ‘But it seems to have a bit of a heft to it.’
Green and Allan exchanged glances, then Green said, ‘Time to move in?’
He started the engine and floored the accelerator. The Astra shot from the clearing and covered the hundred or so yards in seconds. Bright stood like a rabbit caught in the headlights: transfixed and immobile, letting both bags drop to the ground.
The Astra came to a halt and the officers leapt out. Allan pinioned Bright’s hands while Green snapped on a pair of handcuffs.
‘You’re Thomas Bright?’ Allan said.
Bright gave his captors a bewildered look. ‘Aye… aye, I am,’ he said.
The Innocent and the Dead Page 19
